GUIDE · FOR UK SOLAR INSTALLERS · 14 MIN READ

Insurance Backed Guarantees for Solar Installers: What MCS, RECC and TrustMark Require

minimum workmanship guarantee (MCS current scheme, RECC)

2 years

minimum workmanship guarantee (MCS current scheme, RECC)

minimum cover on an MCS approved financial protection product

6 years

minimum cover on an MCS approved financial protection product

excess cap on MCS approved products

£250

excess cap on MCS approved products

maximum IBG cover period, per MCS

10 years

maximum IBG cover period, per MCS

Everything below is from MCS, RECC, TrustMark and the providers' own pages, read on 10 November 2026. MCS is moving installers to its redeveloped scheme in phases, so check its pages before relying on a date.

What an insurance backed guarantee is

MCS defines an insurance backed guarantee as an insurance policy that backs the original guarantee given by a contractor. It gives the customer cover for the installation if their MCS certified contractor ceases to trade during the term of the guarantee. IWA, one of the providers, calls the same thing Workmanship Warranty Insurance.

Three things it is not:

• Not your business insurance. Public liability, employers' liability and professional indemnity protect your business; an IBG protects your customer. Our solar installer insurance guide covers the policies you hold yourself.
• Not the manufacturer's guarantee. MCS says product guarantees must be given to the consumer free of charge and can't limit their statutory rights. The IBG backs your workmanship.
• Not a limit on the customer's rights. MCS points out that, whatever guarantee you give, customers can complain about faulty goods for up to six years after purchase (within five years of the fault becoming apparent in Scotland).

Who requires an insurance backed guarantee, scheme by scheme

MCS: the IBG now, approved financial protection next

On the current scheme. MCS says that when dealing with domestic customers you must guarantee the workmanship of the installation for at least two years after installation, the guarantee must transfer to a new owner if the property is sold, and it must be insured so it is honoured if your company ceases to trade. For domestic installations an IBG is required, and you declare which organisation provided it when you create the certificate on the MCS Installations Database (MID).

MCS adds three practical rules: pay for the policy when you register the installation, because a policy is only valid once the premium is paid and the policy has been issued to the customer; make the cover period equal to the longest guarantee you give, up to 10 years; and don't expect a policy to run longer than your own guarantee.

On the redeveloped scheme. MCS approved financial protection products replace IBGs as mandatory for installations delivered to consumers. Every installer buys one on the customer's behalf. MCS says they guarantee the customer:

• Remediation for problems with their installation when they can't get them resolved through the original installer.
• Protection if the installer goes bankrupt, retires, refuses to carry out remedial work, or if the design failed.
• At least six years' cover from the installation date (or from the contract date if the cover includes design), against the old two-year minimum.
• A simple claims route, with the excess capped at £250.
• Products backed by adequate financial reserves and independently audited.

MCS's requirements for providers also say an approved product must not restrict claims based on how the installation was financed. Installers still on the current scheme can already buy these products: MCS deems them compliant in place of an IBG. MCS says certification bodies are moving installers onto the redeveloped scheme in phases throughout 2026 and into 2027. As on the current scheme, you declare the product you chose when you create the MID certificate.

MCS approved insurance backed guarantee providers

The MCS approved financial protection products as MCS listed them on 10 November 2026. Each covers solar PV; "other technologies" means MCS lists battery storage, heat pumps and others alongside it.

MCS's older page of IBG providers for the current scheme names the Consumer Protection Association, GGFi, Home Improvement Protection (HIP), HomePro, IWA, QANW, Quality Mark Protection and IKNOWA. Two things providers say on their own pages that are worth knowing when you compare them:

• HIES says its cover begins when the contract is signed and runs for six years after installation, and that where a guarantee is backed by a regulated insurer, eligible consumers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the insurer fails and can take complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
• HomePro says its IBG honours valid claims up to 125% of the original contract value, transfers free of charge if the home is sold, and is charged per guarantee issued, with no monthly minimum and no policy registration fee.

Ask every provider for its policy wording before you choose: what is covered, the limits, the excess and how a customer claims.

IWA insurance

IWA is Independent Warranty. On its own site it says it has provided insurance backed guarantees and deposit protection to the home improvement sector since 1985, and that it is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (register number 305650). What it says about its cover:

• Its IBG covers the written guarantee issued by the contractor, for up to 10 years.
• Its deposit protection covers up to 25% of the cost of the contracted work, subject to its terms.
• Its list of covered work includes PV Solar, Battery Storage (EESS) and PV Management Control, and cover is limited to the products named on the policy.
• From March 2026 it offers MCS financial protection under the redeveloped scheme's requirements, with cover from six years. MCS lists IWA's Workmanship Insurance Backed Guarantee as an approved product.
• It quotes commercial guarantee insurance individually, at different rates from its domestic cover, and says deposit protection is not available for commercial contracts.

Buying IWA through the MID has ended. MCS says that as of 16 December 2024 it is no longer an Appointed Representative of IWA, so an IWA IBG can no longer be bought through the MCS Installations Database. You buy it from IWA directly (IWA describes a members' portal for registering customers) and declare it on the certificate as for any other provider.

RECC: guarantees and deposit protection

The Renewable Energy Consumer Code covers selling small-scale energy generators to domestic consumers. Its Code (updated 5 July 2026) asks members for two kinds of insured protection:

• Workmanship guarantee (section 8.1.2). A free, written guarantee against faults from the installation and workmanship, valid for at least two years and transferable if the customer moves home, backed by an insurance backed workmanship guarantee so the full term is honoured if you become insolvent or cease to trade.
• Deposits and advance payments (section 6.3). A deposit should not exceed 25% of the estimated cost, any further advance payment can only be asked for no more than three weeks before the agreed delivery date of the goods, and the two together can't exceed 60%. All of it must be insured so another Code member can finish the contract at no extra cost if you go under.

RECC says you don't need the insurance in place before you apply: you confirm on the application that you will have it within three months of becoming a member. It doesn't require a particular provider and encourages members to shop around. Joining, fees and the commercial-only route are in our guide to RECC membership and TrustMark registration.

TrustMark financial protection

TrustMark says its Framework Operating Requirements expect every registered business to give customers at least two years' financial protection for completed work in and around the home, covering product warranties and workmanship. Whichever mechanism you use, TrustMark expects cover for:

• prepayments, such as deposits;
• two years' workmanship after completion;
• rectifying defects or non-compliance with the Building Regulations;
• major damage or injury, through public liability insurance.

For work under government schemes such as ECO4, TrustMark says an approved financial protection mechanism is mandatory where the measure dictates, and it publishes a list of approved guarantees. Its FAQ tells new applicants to expect insurance against ceasing to trade and minimum two-year guarantees for products and workmanship, with the exact requirements set by their Scheme Provider.

How to arrange an insurance backed guarantee, step by step

1. 1

   Check which scheme you are on

   On the current MCS scheme a domestic job needs an IBG; on the redeveloped scheme it needs an MCS approved financial protection product. MCS accepts the approved products on the current scheme too.

2. 2

   Pick a provider that covers solar PV (and batteries)

   Use MCS's approved products list. Check the technologies listed against each product: some cover solar PV only, most also cover battery storage.

3. 3

   Match the cover to your guarantee

   MCS says the period of cover should equal the longest guarantee you give, up to 10 years for an IBG. A policy can't be longer than your guarantee.

4. 4

   Pay when you register the installation

   MCS says to pay for the policy when you register the customer's installation; it is only valid once the premium is paid and the policy has been issued to the customer.

5. 5

   Declare it on the MCS certificate

   When you create the certificate on the MCS Installations Database (MID), say which organisation provided the IBG, or which approved product you chose.

6. 6

   Give the customer the paperwork

   The policy document goes to the customer with the handover pack. Under RECC, details of every guarantee in place are part of the handover documents.

Put the guarantee and its insurance in the quote and contract as well. MCS's solar PV standard sets what goes in the handover pack (see MIS 3002), and a battery job follows MIS 3012.

Insurance backed guarantees on commercial solar jobs

The rules above are written for homes. MCS's guarantee and financial protection rules are for domestic customers and consumers, RECC covers domestic consumers (its application has a shorter route for businesses that only sign contracts with other businesses), and TrustMark covers work in and around the home. On a commercial roof the customer is an organisation, and the guarantee is whatever the contract says.

Commercial clients still ask. If one wants insured cover, providers can quote: IWA, for example, says it prices commercial guarantee insurance one job at a time, at different rates from its domestic cover, with no deposit protection on commercial contracts. What a commercial buyer is more likely to check is your own insurance, your MCS certification on systems of 50kW or less, and fire safety to the insurers' code (see RC62). Getting in front of those clients is the other half of the job: see how to get commercial solar leads, or browse commercial solar survey appointments and pay only for appointments that are actually attended.

Insurance backed guarantees: FAQ